I want to get a new camera, but I'm not sure which one exactly. I have kind of narrowed it down to the nex-5/3 or the hx5v. Can you please advise me/point out which one is better and why. I'm not entirely sure of whether I want slr performance (in the nex camera) or whether the hx5vb would be good enough.

No compact that I've used has come close to an SLR in performance, both when it comes to the final image and in speed and handling. They can match and surpass SLRs in features, I've used some of Sony's advanced cameras but not that particular one so maybe someone with better experience can chip in.

The NEX cameras have interchangeable lenses so there is no limitation when it comes to the kind of photography you can do as long as you are willing to get more lenses. It would be fine for close up portraits though. The NEX is obviously the better camera, it's just a matter of whether you need all of it's advantages.

Maybe listing some of your shooting preferences and requirements would help?

Thanks for your reply. To be honest, right now I'm not much of a photographer, I mean I click around and stuff, and I'm a month away from finishing high shool and want to turn photography into a real hobby. So landscape pictures would be included, but they main use would be for portrait pictures.

I was looking at the Sony website and you can get a bundle of both 16mm and 18-55mm lenses for a reasonable price. I also don know much about the Sony g-lens, how does it compare to Carl-zenis?!

The 18-55 is actually quite good ...even for portraiture. Next year there will be a portrait lens (a dedicated E-mount one!), Sony revealed during (or prior to, can't remember exactly) the Photokina . My guess would be that it would be something like a 35/50 or 85mm f/1.8 or f/2. Myself, I'd prefer a 35 or 50mm over an 85mm for portraiture .

Thanks for your replies everyone. I looked at the reviews, they both look like great camera's, so I'll decide based on that. But besides the build material difference and the full HD video recording, there are no notable differences between the nex 3 and 5?

Great, they all seem like small differences though, might as well decide between the nex3 and hx5v. I don't justify the nex5 costing 110USD more to be honest. I kind of just decided on Sony because of my trust in the brand. They seem to be reliable, and make good cameras. Or am I wrong?

Nope...you're right. Pretty much any of the 5 major brands that work in larger sensor cameras make a great product - Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus. And of course so do many other companies that make compact cameras...but these are 5 of the larger players in the DSLR/mirrorless/hybrid arena, and will all provide a solid, reliable product with good image quality. It mostly comes down to handling the cameras to see which are comfortable, weighing the features you need, the designs you like, the pricing being good, and any variables that might help your decision (past experience with a company, lens legacy, whatever!).

The biggest difference between the NEX5 and NEX3 is the size and build - there's very little in it, but the NEX5 is a slightly more upscale all-metal body, thinner camera and a little smaller overall, but with a more pronounced grip. Feature-wise, they're not all that different from eachother, so really the main reason to go with the 5 over the 3 is just because you favor the design or the build...and have the extra change lying around to spend!

As for the NEX vs the HX5...obviously two thoroughly different types of camera, with very different IQ. The HX5 is a solid travel camera - basically pocketable, feature-packed, small-sensored so it can provide a good lens zoom range, and basically compatible for folks looking for a second camera to supplement a DSLR, or folks looking for a compact camera to document their trips, family events, and such...but not necessarily looking to really get deeply involved in photography or expanding their skills. Not that you can't learn a lot with a compact camera, as you can...just that most people who get one aren't looking to go down that path. The NEX on the other hand is a compact and stylish all-purpose cam that can do much of what the HX5 can, but in a bulkier package - it is meant to add the sensor size and capabilities of a DSLR, but in a compact and user friendly package that is approachable for photographers and non-photographers alike. In normal daylight snaps, both could make fine prints and slideshows...start zooming in to pixel-level detail, or start moving into low light or challenging situations and the image quality will be many times greater overall with the NEX cams. The NEX cams are equal to the best APS-C sensor DSLR cameras in low light ability, so where the HX5 can nudge up to ISO400, or use special image-stacking tricks to turn out decent ISO1600 results, the NEX can be easily and casually used at ISO6400. And of course, you do have the interchangeable lenses with the NEX.

The NEX would be the better choice if you think the photography bug might hit...because it's expandable. You can add more and different lenses. You can start to use manual controls more. You can start buying various old manual lenses with adapters from almost any manufacturer. You can even buy Alpha lenses that would also work on a DSLR body, if you ever decided to go that route. You could explore low light photography. You'll have an easier go of it shooting people indoors and action or movement with the large sensor camera. But you have to accept the compromises - it isn't as compact, extra accessories must be bought to explore all the abilities, and in some cases, you might want to learn a little more of the basic tenets of photography to understand things like the much shallower depth of field the larger sensor will have. And you lose some toys - in-body stabilization, GPS, multi-image noise reduction stacking. But you gain RAW shooting ability, high ISO performance second-to-none, and interchangeable lenses.

Also consider the fact that many lenses of compacts (the most notable exception being Canon's S90/S95 with its f/2 lens) aren't that fast. Consequently, they won't give the performance in low-light a NEX with its huge (compared to a compact camera/point & shoot) sensor can give if you'd put a fast prime on it. In the coming two years about 7 lenses should be released by Sony: 4 in 2011, 3 in 2012...:

Wide fixed focal length CZ : available from 2011
Telephoto zoom : available from 2011
Macro : available from 2011
Portrait : available from 2011
High performance standard zoom G : available from 2012
Wide zoom : available from 2012
Mid-telephoto : available from 2012

Thanks Zackiedawg and Joris for your replies. I'm slowly leaning towards a NEX after your posts. Obviously the sensor on the NEX is excellent, but how it the picture quality of the g-lens that you get on the HX5V?! Compared to Carl-Zenis?

But the NEXs have autofocus and manual zooms, or am I wrong? What are the zooming capabilities of the 16mm pancake lens? Could the pancake lens give you zooming capabilities with a range similar to the HX5V? I'm not a photography wiz, so im trying to compare the zooms of the standard lens on the NEXs and he 10x optical zoom on the HX5V

In general, G lenses are very good, and Carl Zeiss lenses are generally a little better - but there's a fairly big difference between lenses on compact cameras and those for larger sensored cameras. Though labeled 'Carl Zeiss' or 'G', the lenses on the compact camera are not nearly the same spec as the same lenses for the big cameras. So don't let that be too much of a sway in your decision.

As for 'zoom'...the DSLR/mirrorless cameras, including the NEX, work differently from compact cameras. With a compact camera, you typically have a single lens, fixed to the camera, which covers a predetermined zoom range...the HX5 for example has a 25mm wide equivalent, with a 10x zoom, equalling 250mm equivalent. There is no changing the lenses or the range - what you got is what you got. With the larger sensor cameras, the lenses are interchangeable - so each lens may have a smaller range or larger range, a wider angle or a bigger telephoto, depending on needs. The 16mm 'pancake' lens is not a zoom lens - it is a fixed, or 'prime' lens that only has one focal length - 16mm, with the camera's 1.5x crop factor that equals a 24mm equivalent. No zoom - just 24mm. If you want zoom, then you would purchase one of the other lenses available for the NEX cameras - these lenses are of course larger since they have to accomodate more telephoto focal distance. The smaller and more normal range zoom you can get is the 18-55mm lens, which provides an equivalent of 27mm to 82.5mm (roughly 3x zoom) If you really needed more reach, then you could get the larger and heavier 18-200mm lens, which will give you an equivalent reach of 27mm to 300mm (roughly 11x zoom). All lenses designed for the NEX e-Mount are autofocus.

With various adapters, you can also use nearly any lens made - though these would mostly be manual focus lenses. With the Sony Alpha adapter, you can purchase certain Alpha lenses and still autofocus, and there are adapters available to use Canon, Nikon, Leica, Contax, Pentax, Minolta, and a host of other lenses.

That's what I was saying about compactness - the NEX is small - but when equipped with lenses that equal the reach of the little compact superzooms, it has to get a lot bigger because of the lenses. Larger sensor means larger lenses to get the same reach. Small sensor cameras can use tiny lenses, but the large lenses will deliver better quality. And are always upgradable. But you need to be willing to buy the extra lenses - committed enough to the idea of photography to be worth carrying a camera body and maybe 2-4 lenses in a bag when you travel...and have a larger, less pocketable solution...but get better control, better images, and far greater abilities.

All cameras are compromises - you can go for compact and versatile, or larger with better image quality.